Brace yourselves: The O'Bannon lawsuit is coming to a head beginning on June 9th.
The NCAA had attempted to put trial off until at least February 2015, but in the end, Judge Claudia Wilken was having none of it. The class-action lawsuit that has weaved its way through the American justice system for nearly five years will have its day in court beginning on June 9th. There will only be billions of dollars and the future of college athletics (as we know it) at sake.
From ESPN:
If successful, the lawsuit could upend the NCAA's current model built upon the concept college athletes are amateurs and shouldn't be compensated beyond tuition and basic room and board.
"If this is a business -- which they admit it is -- it's got to run as a business in all aspects," said Michael Hausfeld, lead attorney for the plaintiffs. "And a competitive business operating in open markets can't fix their cost of labor."
[...]
"Although the plaintiffs' eleventh-hour change in strategy has denied a jury the opportunity to decide the important issues in the O'Bannon litigation, we are prepared for trial and look forward to presenting our case to the judge," said Donald Remy, the NCAA's chief legal officer. "At the same time, we will continue to prepare for a jury trial in the Keller case that is scheduled for March."
The off-season just got a lot more interesting, folks.
